July 6 - Blizzard announces their intention to have Real ID names visible when posting on the official forums.[14] This resulted in a massive outcry against the idea, based primarily on concerns about privacy issues and potential harassment.

July 9 - Due the overwhelming flood of criticism, Blizzard rescinds their plan to put Real ID names on the official forums.[15]

August 10 - The People's Republic of China approves a heavily edited Wrath of the Lich King for release.[16]

Parts of the trailer were aired on television in the second quarter of the Dallas Cowboys/Minnesota Vikings football game on the same day. The commercial asked "Where will you be when the Cataclysm begins"

The concept of "The Dark Below" is not new to WoW, previously mentioned here: http://www.wowwiki.com/Dark_Below. With speculation over the past few months about the possibility of a Burning Legion expansion, players are convinced we will soon be descending into the dark depths of Azeroth!

↑Quintessence 2012-08-24. Patch 5.0.4 Reminders. Perks N Peeves. “Pet Battles. We'll have to wait until the MoP release date to access this new ability and minigame. The upside is that players do NOT have to upgrade to MoP to participate.”